Opening in 1895 this building was originally called the Grand Hotel. Commissioned by Thomas Hamilton allegedly after the Royal and Ancient Golf Club rejected his membership application.

During the Second World War the Hotel was requisitioned by the Armed Forces and it never returned to being a hotel.

After the war it was aquired by the University of St Andrews and between 1949 and 2006 it was use as one of the Halls of Residence. In 2006 it was sold to a group who had hoped to turn it in to a prestigious residence club, however they seemed to run out of money and in December 2009 Herb Kohler bought the building. Kohler also owns the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, (among others) and currently has plans to restore Hamilton Hall.

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Bow Butts is an open piece of grassy parkland lying behind the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews.

The name Bow Butts comes from the ancient requirement for all able bodied men to be able to bear arms in time of war, the weapon of choice being bow and arrow. Bow Butts was the archery range for St. Andrews.

In the centre of the image you can see the St Andrews Band Stand, not used as much as it once was, but live music is played here on occasions during the summer months. To the right you can see the rear of the Royal and Ancient Golf Clubhouse sitting proudly infront of the 1st tee of the Old Course. On the left, the red building is Hamilton Hall, once the Grand Hotel, then a student residence it has sat empty for a few years as the people behind “The Grand” venture ran out of money. Recently purchased by the Kohler Company, (yes the US kitchen people), who also own the Old Course Hotel, the town is now waiting to see what they have in store of this famous St Andrews landmark.

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This is a shot looking up Murray Park in St Andrews. the buildings on it are almost exclusively used as Bed and Breakfast or small guest houses.

If you are visiting St Andrews, especially to play golf, then its a pretty good bet that you’ll be staying somewhere on this street.

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Golf Place, St Andrews. This is the road that leads down to the Home of Golf, The Old Course.

With Auchterlonies golf shop pretty much taking up the entire left side of the street. Opposite you have the Dunvegan and 1 Golf Place, both haunts of many a golfer telling the tales of their rounds and the story of the missed putt.

At the bottom of the street on the right is Hamilton Hall, recently bought by Kohler Co. current owners of the Old Course Hotel. Plans for this building are about to be announced.

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The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, orginally built in 1968 this Hotel has become a landmark on the St Andrews Skyline.

The hotel, built on the site of the switching yard of St Andrew’ now gone railway station, has seen many owners and a few facelifts over the years but still remains one of the plushest hotels in the area.
With Stunning views of the Old Course itself.

Now owned by Kholer (the US kitchen guy) they have also just bought Hamilton Hall, previously know as the Grand Hotel which is the red building you can see on the left in my previous upload.

Sitting in front of the hotel is the Swilcan Bridge, one of the most famous bridges in the world of Golf.

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The world famous Swilcan Bridge the crossing point of the Swilcan burn for many a golfer and tourist over the years. The 5 star Old Course Hotel stands in the background over looking the 17th Hole.

The hotel sits on the site of the old railway switching yard. The small white building is the Jigger inn this is the old Station Masters house and is now a pub.

The Old Course Hotel, St Andrews, Scotland. Built on the site of the old railway yard overlooking the famous 17th fairway of the Old Course.

I took this HDR at Dusk on an extremely windy evening in April. You can see how much the gorse bush in the foreground is moving (and the Red flag in the centre of the picture)

View it in original size for the full effect.